ISLAMABAD: Ending almost a year-long boycott, opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) senators returned to the joint sitting of parliament on Monday. They did it with their signature noisy protest, causing disruptions to the proceedings. It happened as both the Senate opposition leader and a minister accused each other of causing chaos in the country.
Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf struggled to run the house for the first time since taking office in April last year. Members from both sides continued sloganeering against each other despite chair warnings.
Asad Mehmood’s Speech
Speaker Ashraf on a couple of times seen losing temper. He warned the opposition senators that they might also not be allowed to speak. It could happen if they continued interrupting Minister for Communications Asad Mehmood’s speech. He ridiculed the PTI members by stating, “end your protest now as you have marked your attendance before someone”.
The PTI senators, carrying placards with anti-government slogans, gathered in front of the speaker’s dais. They raised full-throated slogans soon after entering the hall and again when Mr. Mehmood named Imran Khan’s sons and asked him to bring them to the country. He asked to enroll them in a Madressah if he wanted to turn the country into a Madina-like state.
In their addresses characterized by political vitriol. Opposition Leader in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem of PTI and Mr Mehmood accused each other of breaking the Constitution and generating turmoil in the country.
Waleed Iqbal, Fawzia Arshad, and Saifullah Abro led the protest.
During the hard-hitting speech of Mr Mehmood, who is the son of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The assembly hall kept on echoed with slogans both from the treasury benches and the opposition side.
Dr Waseem
Though Dr Waseem lashed out at the government for allegedly running away from the Constitution. Also for running a campaign against judges and politically victimising the PTI, he delivered his speech in somewhat conciliatory tone. He didn’t mention PPP or PML-N leaders’ corruption. He only criticised the rulers for their present policies, particularly for bringing the country at the verge of economic collapse.
The PTI senator then stressed the need for political unity. He called for sitting together to find out the way out of the crisis. He declared that his party did not want to create chaos and only desired for fair and free elections. In what may be defined as a polite call for engagement, Dr Waseem suggested they should sit together. It can be done by setting aside their personal interests. He added that it was the role of the government to “extinguish fire”, instead of producing turmoil.
He also made an indirect “request” to the speaker to allow the PTI MNAs to return to the house. After the party’s decision to withdraw their en masse resignations.
Mr. Mehmood implied that the government would not engage the PTI leadership.
“We will drive a final nail into your political coffin”. Mr Mehmood thundered amid loud jeering by the opposition PTI members. However, the PTI senators were not supported by the dissident MNAs. Who had ditched the party at the time of vote of no-confidence against then prime minister Imran Khan in April last year.
PTI will never be in power again
Referring to Mr Khan’s oft-repeated claim that he had acquired power after 23-year struggle. Mr Mehmood declared that PTI would never be able to get power again. Even if it carried out a struggle for the next 46 years.
The communications minister accused the judiciary of joining the political conflict. He criticized the superior judiciary’s recent judgements on Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election dates. Also its previous verdicts on PML-Hamza N’s Shehbaz’s Punjab chief ministership. He claimed the judiciary announced its election date verdict without giving the ruling parties a chance to comment.
“If you will make political statements before issuing orders, then we will criticise you”. He said in an apparent reference to some remarks of the judges during the hearing of political cases.
Jewish Agent
The JUI-F MNA called Mr. Khan “an agent of Jewish lobby”. He cited recent statements by US officials, including Zalmay Khalilzad. As well as journalists and human rights activists in favor of PTI to prove his point.
He said PTI could never come to power without the support of establishment. He claimed that Khalilzad ordered former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa to meet with Imran Khan after his ouster.
Mr. Mehmood called the March 25 PTI public meeting in Lahore a disaster and challenged Imran Khan to organize a rally without music or women. He passed some derogatory remarks about the PTI participants of the public meetings, prompting a strong protest by the opposition senators.
Mr Mehmood was still on his legs when the speaker abruptly adjourned the joint sitting till April 10 after failing to contain the protesting PTI members.
ECP
Dr. Waseem began his speech by criticizing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for delaying Punjab and KP polls despite the Supreme Court’s order, calling it a Constitutional violation and contempt of court. He then protested over the alleged government crackdown on the PTI leaders and workers and police action at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
Dr Waseem also lamented the role of the caretaker Punjab government, accusing it of going beyond its mandate of holding the elections. He particularly mentioned the statement of Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi for using threatening tone against the PTI activists and asked him to apologise over it.
After Dr. Waseem’s address, journalists walked out of the press gallery to protest police mistreatment of a colleague and non-payment of salary in some media organizations.
Dr. Waseem began painting a bleak picture of media freedom in the country, alleging that journalists were being arrested and tortured for criticizing rulers’ policies.
Later, the speaker ordered the interior ministry to punish those who assaulted journalists during Imran Khan’s court appearance in Islamabad and referred the salary issue to the concerned house committee.
NA session
During a separate National Assembly session, treasury members, including two federal ministers, from the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) staged a token walkout over the non-release of promised development funds.
Independent MNA Mohsin Dawar complained that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had failed to release tribal funds.
He said the government had released Rs5bn of the Rs55bn allocated. He claimed dollars were showering on the country when these areas were being destroyed in battle against terrorism, and now when they required cash for rehabilitation, there was no money in the national budget.
The protesting MNAs also criticized Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for not having time to meet with them.
However, State Minister for Finance Ayesha Ghaus Pasha stated that the issue related to the Ministry of Planning, which developed the country.
